Charles l



C. L. McCUEN. COMPRESSOR.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. II. Iszo.

1,400,755 Patented Dec. 20, 1921.

|||"I N willi: IIIl I I I'III'Il IIIII's Il III' *I MI UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES L. MCCUEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO RESOLUTE MANUFAC-TUBING- COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

COMPRESSOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 20, 1921.

Application filed October 11, 1920. Serial No. 416,049.

To'aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. MGCUEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Compressors, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to pumps and is well adapted to operate as acompressor for refrigerating units, especially of the smaller type suchas those employed for domestic use, retail stores, etc. The object ofthe invention is to produce a compact'and simple form of pump which maybe relied upon to operate over long periods of time without attention,even for lubricating purposes.

I obtain this lobject by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which- Figure l is an assembly View of a pump embodying theinvention. 'The view is largely in section on the plane passing throughthe axes of the supporting and drive shafts.

Fig. 2 is a view looking toward the right in Fig. l, the section ofhousing nearest to the observer being removed in order to reveal theparts within, and the cylinder bein shown in axial section. 4

ig 3 is similar to F ig. 2 except that it omits the housing and showsthe cylinder and associated parts in a position different from the oneshown in Fig. 2.

Like numerals denote like parts throughout the several views.

In the particular' form which I have selected to illustrate theprinciple of the invention there are two stationary shafts, the lowerone l constituting the drive shaft and the upper one 2 constituting thesupporting shaft for supporting the cylinders. In the present case thepump is shown in duplex form with two cylinders instead of one, but thenumber of cylinders is immaterial so far as the principle of theinvention is concerned. These shafts pass through bearings 3 and 4respectively into a housing 6 which is, in the present design, formed of4two parts bolted together. This housing is adapted to contain oil forlubricating the cooperating parts of the pump.

Fastened to drive shaft l are two eccentrics 8 set 180 apart. rI heseare encircled by eccentric straps l0 ,which are connected to the lowerend of plungers 12. These plungers work within cylinders 14 which arepivotally supported at the upper end by the shaft 2. Said shaft has alongitudinal passage 16 which is closed at the inner end, and at theouter end communicates either with the atmosphere or with a pipe such asthe plpe 18 which in the case of a compressor for refrigerating unitswould lead from the expansion coil or chamber. Passages 20 lead from thecenter bore 16 to passages formed in the side of the cylinders andcommunicating with the inside of the latter through the induction ports24. Ports 24 are so placed that when the plunger is at the outward limitof its travel it uncovers the port long enough to admit the gas or otherfluid, after which it closes the port and commences to compress or ejectthe fluid. An eduction port 26 is located at the inner end of thecylinder for permitting egress ofthe fluid. These latter ports arecontrolled by valves 28 which are here shown in the form of leaf springssecured to the outside of the cylinder by screws 30. The construction issuch that under pressure from the inside of the cylinder the valves 28will open and permit the fiuid to escape. As soon as the plungercommences its outward travel the valve-s automatically close and sealthe ports 26.

To insure lubrication between the cylinder heads and the supportingshaft 2 it is desirable to form oil cups 32 in the cylinder heads andlead into them wicks 34, the lower ends whereof dip into the lubricatingoil contained within the housing.

In practice, when the parts are assembled as shown and the drive shaft 1is 1'0- tated, the eccentrics not only cause the plungers to reciprocatelongitudinally within the respective cylinders but also cause saidcylinders to rock or oscillate about shaft 2 as an axis. The passages20, 22 are wide enough to prevent them from being shut off at any timeby the angular position of the cylinder, the result being that the inletor induction ports 24 are always in communication with the inside of thehollow shaft. Consequently when a plunger has moved outward far enoughto uncoverthe port 24 the gas or other work fluid may pass from theinside of the shaft to the inside of the cylinder. After the pump hasthus received its charge of work uid the plunger starts to rise and tocompress the fluid and to force it out of the eduction port 26 past thevalve 28. After the plunger has reachaed the upper end of its travel andcommences its return journey the valve 28 automatically closes, whichcauses the plunger to create a vacuum withinI the cylinder, and it isthis vacuum which induces the rush of work fluid into-the cylinder whenthe port 24 is uni covered.

From the foregoing description and a reference to the drawings it willbe seen that I have produced a very simple and compact mechanism, bothof which characteristics are a great advantage in domestic refrigeratorswhere space is important and where the users are commonly without greatknowledge or experience in the care of machinery. The housing serves notonly to protect the reciprocating parts from interference withsurrounding objects, but by filling it with lubricating oil all of theworking parts of the pump'will be thoroughly lubricated and may be leftwithout attention for months or even years. Furthermore, by supportingthe cylinders on the upper shaft, and permitting them to oscillate onit, and by making said shaft hollow and using it as a duct forintroducing the work fluid, and by connecting the plungers directly tothe eccentrics-the use of these and other expedients produces a pump orcompressor of exceedingly small compass relatively to its capacity.

It will be understood that the design may be modified without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. For example, different forms ofeccentrics are known and may be substituted for the form illustratedwith like effect. Furthermore, the pump may be used for other purposesthan as a compressor for refrigerating machines.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A pump having a stationary hollow i shaft, a cylinder supported bysaid shaft and adapted to oscillate upon it as an axis, the cylinderhaving a portnear one end communicating with the inside of the shaft,and a port at the other end leadingto a point outside of the cylinder, aplunger working in said cylinder and adapted to momentarily uncover oneof said ports, thereby serving as a valve for controlling it, means forcontrolling the other of said ports, and means for 'reciprocating theplunger and simultaneously oscillating it about its axis.

2. A pump having a stationary hollow shaft, a cylinder supported by saidshaft and adapted to oscillate upon it as an axis, the cylinder having apassage in the side communicating at one end with the inside of theshaft and at the other end with the outer end of the cylinder, thecylinder having a second port near the inner end, a plunger Working in'said cylinderand adapted to momentarily 'cylinder having a passage inthe side communicating at one end with the inside of the shaft and atthe other end with the outer end of the cylinder, the cylinder having asecond port near the inner end, a plunger working in said cylinder andadapted to momentarily uncover the outer port whereby the plunger servesas a valve for controlling it, means for controlling the other of saidports, a stationary drive shaft, and an eccentric secured to said driveshaft and connected to the plunger for causing the latter to reciprocateinthe cylinder and the cylinder to oscillate about the hollow shaft asan axis.

4. In a device of the class described the y combination of a stationarydrive shaft, an eccentric driven by said shaft, a plunger actuated byysaid eccentric, a cylinder in which said plunger works, and astationary, hollow shaft for supporting the cylinder, the cylinder andshaft having passages which communicate with each other and with theinterior of the respective parts, and the passage in the cylinder havingaport adapted to be covered and uncovered by the plunger in itsreciprocation, the cylinder also having a second port and a valve forcontrolling it.

5. A pump having a hollow supporting shaft, a cylinder supported at itshead end by said shaft and adapted to oscillate upon it, a' plungerworking in said shaft, a drive shaft opposite to the rear end of thecylinder, an eccentric on the drive shaft connected to the plunger foractuating it and at the same time causing the cylinder to oscillate, thecylinder having an induction port near the rear end and an eduction portnear the head end, the plunger being adapted to momentarily uncover theinduction port when at the loutward p the escape' of fluid from thecylinder and preventing the entrance of fluid into the cylinder from thesurrounding space.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

CHARLES L. MCCUEN.

